Education
Parents interfere in children’s career selection
  • By Hoai Nam | dtinews.vn | April 21, 2017 07:39 AM
Many Vietnamese parents want children to study majors which are thought to be easy to get a well-paid job after graduation, but often ignore what the children actually want to study.

The topic was discussed at a club among parents of pupils at Tri Duc Secondary and High School in HCM City.

  

Many Vietnamese parents want children to study majors which are thought to be easy to get a well-paid job after graduation

Tran Minh Thang in Phu Nhuan District said that he tried to persuade his son to work in the area that he himself thinks it would help him to earn a higher income. However, his son did not like the job and often showed his boredom when working. After a short time, he quit the job to work as a bartender. This is the job he likes.

Thang is now still worried for his son when his salary is only around VND4.5 million (USD204.5) per month, but the father said he needs to respect him and hoped that he could become more successful in the future.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau, General Secretary of the Vietnam History Association, said medical universities and the People Police Academy every year attract a large number of students who apply to take an entrance exam. This is partially due to parental pressure.

Many parents said that becoming a doctor can help their children to earn a lot of money, while studying at military or police universities help them to save money because of free tuition fees. Particularly, after graduation from military and police universities, students don’t have to worry about looking for a job, as these are arranged by university management agencies.

Meanwhile, lots of parents persuade their children to select majors which are suitable for what the parent’s current job, so that when they retire, their children can replace them.

Dr. Hau questioned if parents want their children to do jobs that they do not like how can they expect them to be dedicated enough?

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuy from the HCM City Academy of Public Administration said that being a teacher does not provide a high income, but this is the career she likes. Besides teaching, she also worked as a free psychological adviser and now she can earn extra income thanks to working as speaker. 

According to Dr. Thuy, children who are forced to do jobs which they are not interested in, are obviously unenthusiastic about their work and unhappy. 

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